Feb. 8, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. (www.TheSunDevils.com) -- Arizona State sophomore Travis Buck was 3-for-3 with four RBI and starting pitcher Jason Urquidez registered nine strikeouts in five innings to lead the No. 10 Sun Devils to a series sweep over Florida State with a 12-6 win Sunday in front of 3,386 at Packard Stadium.
The Sun Devils handed FSU its first non-conference sweep since 2001 and are off to a 3-0 start for the third year in a row. ASU won each of the first two games of the series in dramatic fashion, scoring two runs in the ninth in Friday's 2-1 win and three runs in the final at-bat in Saturday's 10-9 victory. FSU falls to 2-3 overall and lost a series to the Devils for the first time since first meeting in 1987.
Urquidez (Simi Valley, Calif.) made his long-awaited Sun Devil debut a memorable one, striking out nine batters and allowing only one run and six hits in five innings. Urquidez was a junior college All-American at Central Arizona College. A pair of freshmen helped seal the win with big performances out of the bullpen. Lefty Josh Blake (Overland Park, Kan.) had four strikeouts in an inning and a third and right-hander Quentin Andes (Albuquerque, N.M.) gave up only one hit and struck out four in the final 2.1 innings. Andes picked up the save after entering the game with ASU only up three runs.
Buck (Richland, Wash.) had a breakout game after going 1-for-9 heading into the series. The 2003 Freshman All-American reached base in all six of his plate appearances and recorded four RBI. His run-scoring double in the first inning plated ASU's first run of the game. Junior All-American Dustin Pedroia (Woodland, Calif.) added a 2-for-5 performance with a pair of doubles and three runs scored.
FSU starter Mark Sauls took the loss after giving up four hits and three runs in three innings of work. The former third-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins walked four and struck out one in his first start of the year. Seven Seminole pitchers combined to walk 15 batters in the game.
After a 1-2-3 first inning from Urquidez, the Devils wasted little time extending their NCAA record consecutive games scoring streak to 504. Pedroia and Buck tabbed back-to-back doubles and Nick Cadena (Glendale) and freshman Colin Curtis (Issaquah, Wash.) followed with run-scoring singles to stake ASU to a 3-0 lead.
FSU looked to have a rally going in the third with a run in and the bases loaded with no outs, but Urquidez struck out two and forced a pop up to end the threat. After the single Seminole tally in the third, the Devils extended their lead to 7-1 with a four-run fourth inning. Junior Jeff Larish (Tempe) drilled a double off the right field fence to start the rally and junior second baseman Josh Asanovich followed with a two-out, bases loaded double to bring home three runs. Pedroia's second double and a two-run single from Buck in the seventh extended ASU's lead to 12-6.
FSU crept to within three runs after a three-run sixth inning and a two-run seventh. After giving up a two-run single, Blake struck out Matt Sauls, All-American Stephen Drew and Eddy Martinez-Esteve to end the sixth inning. Andes followed in similar fashion in the seventh, walking the first batter he faced to load the bases, and then coaxed Drew into a ground ball back to the mound to end the inning.
Arizona State (3-0) returns to action next weekend with three games at the annual Coca-Cola Spring Training Classic in Surprise, Ariz. The Devils will take on Cal State Northridge (Feb. 13, 7 p.m.), Utah (Feb. 14, 7 p.m.) and Oklahoma (Feb. 15, 3 p.m.) at Surprise Stadium, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. ASU will then play a single game the following Monday (Feb. 16) against Gonzaga at 7 p.m. at Packard Stadium.
Game Notes: The three-game series drew 9,684 fans in the season-opening series at Packard Stadium... ASU scored nine of its 12 runs with two outs... freshmen Josh Blake (Overland Park, Kan.) and Quentin Andes (Albuquerque, N.M.) made their ASU debuts on the mound... junior Chris Cook also made his debut pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eighth... the throwing error in the seventh by second baseman Josh Asanovich was ASU's first fielding miscue of the series... the Devils added six more doubles and finished with 13 in the three-game series... Florida State (54-13-1 in 2003) had not been swept since 2002 (North Carolina) and not swept in a non-conference series since 2001 (at Stanford)... ASU trails the all-time series with FSU 10-24 and recorded its first sweep of the Seminoles... ASU is now 8-7 all-time against the Seminoles at Packard Stadium and 9-8 all-time in games played away from Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee... the Devils played 12 newcomers during the weekend series and three players that redshirted last season... junior Dustin Pedroia had two doubles Sunday and finished with three in the series... he lead the NCAA last year with 34 doubles (0.50 per game). Arizona State 12, Florida State 6 (Feb 08, 2004 at Tempe, Ariz.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State....... 001 003 200 - 6 9 2 (2-3) Arizona State....... 300 411 30X - 12 10 1 (3-0) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State - Mark Sauls; Chambers(4); DiBlasi(4); Thompson(5); Davis(5);Chambliss(7); Manasa(8). Arizona State - Urquidez; Bresnehan(6); Blake(6); Andes(7). Win-Urquidez(1-0) Save-Andes(1) Loss-Mark Sauls(0-1) T-3:29 A-3386 Coca-Cola Spring Training Classic (Surprise, Ariz.) Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 OSU vs. Utah, 11 a.m. Gonzaga vs. Oklahoma, 3 p.m. ASU vs. CS Northridge, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2004 Oklahoma vs. CS Northridge, 11 a.m. Oregon State vs. Gonzaga, 3 p.m. ASU vs. Utah, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 15, 2004 CS Northridge vs. Oregon State, 9 a.m. Utah vs. Gonzaga, 12 p.m. ASU vs. Oklahoma, 3 p.m. --Sun Devil Baseball--